When I was pregnant with my first child, I came across an article about “The Little Virtues,” an essay by Italian writer Natalia Ginzburg. It was a breath of fresh air. I’d already gorged myself on parenting advice by reading books on eating, sleeping and first aid. But I longed for something both deeper and broader, a template that cut to the quick of parenting. I found that template in “The Little Virtues,” which begins this way: “As far as the education of children is concerned I think they should be taught not the little virtues but the great ones. Not thrift but generosity and an indifference to money; not…
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Design A Simple Header for Your Next Google Quiz
Distance learning is on everyone’s mind. It brings up a lot of questions for teachers and one of them is–will I be able to recreate the classroom magic via a computer screen? Sigh. I don’t know. While digitizing reading quizzes I’ve been trying to add things to make assignments more visually appealing. It’s a small thing, but absent bulletin boards, pillows, quiet places, etc. we’re really relying on the small things. One fun thing to do is design a themed header for Google quizzes (through Google Forms). I did this for my The Girl Who Drank the Moon and Charlotte’s Web quizzes. I like the way they turned out! I…
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Let Me Introduce Myself: The Teacher Behind “Teacher In Exile”
Hey there! According to WordPress Insights, about 45% of you are returning visitors. I don’t know who you are, but I’m honored that you’ve chosen to spend some of your valuable time here at Teacher In Exile, and I’d like to tell you a little bit about who I am, what I’m doing here, and what I hope to contribute. Teaching Raggedy Ann When I was a kid I played school a lot. I distinctly remember the day I realized my Raggedy Anne doll was my favorite student. Until then I hadn’t much liked her. Yarn for hair? Come on. I’d seen the doll section of the American Girl catalogue.…
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To-Do List, Summer 2020
Usually my to-do list at this time of year is full of NEW TpT resources that I want to complete and post for the new school year. But with all the uncertainty around COVID-19 and the possibility of extended distance learning, this year’s to-do list is all about updating OLD resources. I’m no expert at digitizing resources, and the whole process bums me out. When making reading workshop resources, I like to envision a lively, humming classroom full of collaboration and interaction. Imagining a bunch of kids staring at screens for hours on end is less motivating. Anyway, if you’re in the same boat as me, here are some resources…
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How to Design Eye Catching Graphic Organizers Using Keynote
Creating your own graphic organizers gives you a lot of freedom. You can design organizers that fit your instructional goals, student needs, and context better than most ready-made graphic organizers. Of course, this takes time, and you may find that you’re not so good at the design-y element. Well, neither am I. Designing resources for TpT has forced me to improve in this respect. Here are three simple things I’ve learned about designing graphic organizers without spending too much time or money: When I began making graphic organizers I tried to dress them up with purchased borders. I felt the same way I did about font–cute font/border makes the page…
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A Non-Designers Guide to Creating a Simple Brand for Teachers Pay Teachers (Steps 1-3)
Branding isn’t just for hardcore TpT sellers, it’s for everyone. Here’s why simple brand can benefit you, even if you’re a novice TpT seller: With a brand, you’re never starting from scratch. When you create new resources you already have fonts, colors, and templates picked out. A brand makes your resources stand out. You want buyers to recognize your logo, colors and cover designs. A brand makes your store look cohesive. That being said, here are three posts to get you started: First, choose a color palette. Next, choose a font family. Finally, create a template for product covers. Voila! You’re a TpT pro.
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A Regular Person’s Guide to Creating a TpT “Brand,” Step 3: Create a Template for Product Covers
Now that you’ve chosen a color palette and a font family, you’re ready to create a template for product covers. Creating product covers has been challenging for me. I feel more confident creating resources than I do with the packaging (I’m not a designer!). I used to start from scratch each time I designed a cover. Now, I use a simple template for most of my covers. It looks something like this: This template gives me space for a title, a subtitle, and an image. The two text boxes prevent me from squishing as many words as possible onto the cover. Here’s how some of the finished products look: How…
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A Regular Person’s Guide to Creating a TpT “Brand,” Step 2: Choose a Font Family
To reiterate, this short series is for non-graphic designers who simply want to make their TpT products attractive, recognizable and cohesive. I’m using “branding” very loosely (and somewhat skeptically) here. So, step 1 was to choose a color palette. Step 2 is to choose a font family… About Font When I began creating products for TpT I was lost when it came to font. I mistakenly thought that a bunch of random fonts thrown together on the page would make products look more exciting. Instead, it just made them look busy. I’ve seen lots of people on TpT and Instagram who use cute (purchased and downloaded) fonts really well. These…
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A Regular Person’s Guide to Creating a TpT “Brand,” Step 1: Choose a Color Palette & Import it to Keynote
Do you hate the word “brand” as applied to yourself? Are you already cringing? Yeah, yeah, yeah, me too. But when I say “brand” I’m not talking about staging a fabricated life so you can get more instagram followers, likes, re-shares or whatever. I simply mean taking a few simple steps to make your TpT products attractive, recognizable, and cohesive. The first step is to choose a color palette. This will make designing a logo, product covers and blog posts simpler. If there is a set of colors you already like to use, then great–you’re almost done! But if you don’t have an eye for color (I don’t), here are…
